NEW ORLEANS, La. – A pair of coaches with Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) ties are headed into the U.S. Track & Field Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2023. Current Carleton College women’s cross country and track & field head coach Donna Ricks and former St. Olaf College men’s cross country and track & field coach Phil Lundin were among six Hall of Fame inductees announced by the USTFCCCA on Tuesday.
Ricks has served as the Knights’ women’s cross country head coach since 1993. Under her guidance, Carleton has won 11 MIAC crowns, six regional titles, and made 16 appearances at the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships. The team’s breakthrough came in 2022, with a historic fourth-place finish and their first-ever podium appearance at the national championships.
In track & field, the Knights have excelled at the individual level with Ricks at the helm. Amina Ricks (no relation) secured Carleton’s first individual championship under Ricks’s tutelage in 1994. Since then, four athletes have won six more individual titles, with Amelia Campbell’s exceptional performances earning her three combined-event crowns between 2014 and 2016.
Overall, the Knights have earned more than 60 All-America honors in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, with a majority of those coming from outdoor competitions. Ricks has been named USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year eight times since 2009. She became only the second female coach in NCAA DIII award history to win three consecutive cross country honors from 2017 to 2019. Beyond her collegiate coaching role, Ricks served as the U.S. National Women’s Heptathlon Coach in 1996 and also teaches in the physical education, athletics, and recreation department at Carleton College.
Lundin, who spent a combined 34 seasons at St. Olaf from 2008-20 after previously working at the University of Minnesota, coached 184 MIAC all-conference selections, 52 individual or relay conference champions, 49 national qualifiers, 40 individual or relay All-Americans, 10 national-qualifying teams, seven individual national champions, and six conference-championship teams. His career was highlighted by leading the men's cross country program to the 2013 national title, the lone NCAA team championship in school history. An eight-time MIAC Coach of the Year, Lundin's cross country teams won five-straight MIAC titles from 2012-16 and recorded three-straight top-five national finishes from 2013, placing second in 2014 and fourth in 2015 in addition to the 2013 national title.
In addition to his eight MIAC Coach of the Year accolades, Lundin was named the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2013 and the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Central Region Coach of the Year four-straight years from 2012-15. His teams also excelled academically, earning a combined 32-of-33 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team awards and producing 72 USTFCCCA All-Academic honorees.
Lundin was previously inducted into the St. Olaf College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Augsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Ricks and Lundin will be honored at the 2023 USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Presented by REKORTAN on Tuesday, December 12, at the USTFCCCA Convention, held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort Hotel and Convention Center outside of Denver, Colorado.
Started in 1995, the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame exists to recognize coaches who have brought great distinction to themselves, to their institutions and to the sports of cross country and track & field. Each of the honorees exemplifies the qualities of dedication to the sport, leadership and passion for their profession and serves as an inspiration to coaches everywhere.